Latch assembly for surface-mounted doors



J1me 1952 K. M. JOHNSON ETAL 3,041,098

LATCH ASSEMBLY FOR SURFACE-MOUNTED DOORS Filed June 18, 1959 2 SheetsSheet l FIG.

INVENTORS KENNETH M JOHNSON WALTER J. MAOFARLANE ATTORNEYS June 26, 1962 K. M. JOHNSON ETAL 3,041,098

LATCH ASSEMBLY FOR SURFACE-MOUNTED DOORS Filed June 18, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

5 Z G l H \A iM VM E 1 004 0 a 6% a w J w w 3 M a H 5 INVENTORS KENNETH M. dOHNSON WALTER d. MACFARLANE ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,041,098 LATCH ASSEMBLY FDR SURFACE-MOUNTED DOORS Kenneth M. Johnson, Kensington, and Walter J. Mac- Farlane, New Britain, (loam, assignors to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Filed June 18, 1959, Ser. No. 821,133 4 Claims. (Cl. 29278) The present invention relates to a novel latch assembly for use with doors in residential and other types of buildings and has particular utility for use with such a door mounted on the surface of a wall and extending across a through opening therein. 'This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Serial No. 796,828, filed March 3, 1959.

As disclosed and claimed in our copending application Serial No. 796,828, a recent innovation in the mounting of swinging doors in residential and other types of buildings is to mount the door on the outer surface of the wall containing the doorway with the door overlapping the wall opening. Among the advantages of such a door mounting are the simplicity and economy of mounting the door, the ability to use a completely prefabricated and prefinished door without any necessity for fitting at the site of installation, and an improved and pleasing appearance of the completed door and door opening.

The aim of the present invention is to provide an improved and novel latch assembly for latching the door in closed position which is particularly constructed for enhancing and rendering more advantageous the abovedescribed mounting of the door on the surface of the wall through which the doorway extends.

A more particular aim of the invention is to provide such a latch assembly which may be mounted for operation between the wall and the edge of the door, which is attractive in appearance, and which may be installed with a minimum of 'difliculty and expense.

A further aim is to provide such a latch assembly which can be installed without any mortising of the door and which eliminates the use of operating handles and the like conventionally used with doors mounted in the usual manner. Included in this aim is the provision of a latch assembly which is of simple and economical construction and yet which will be durable and effective in operation over long periods of time without repair or replacement.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of a wall containing a door opening and including a door mounted on the surface of the wall wherein the latch assembly of the present invention has been installed; the door and the housing for the keeper being also shown in transverse cross section;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of the side edge of the door and a vertical cross section of the wall showing the latch assembly in side View mounted thereon with the cover of the keeper in cross section;

FIG. 3 is a similar View of the latch and wall with the latch in unlatched position and showing the keeper in phantom;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front view of the wall and latch mechanism installed therein; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view of the door and keeper mounted thereon with the cover of the keeper removed.

Referring in detail to the attached drawings, a latch assembly in accordance with the present invention is shown as applied to a door 2 which is mounted on the planar outside surface of a wall 4 by means of the surface mounting hinges 6 and extends across the through opening 7. Generally, it is comprised of a latch mechanism 8 which is mounted in a recess 9 of the wall 4 adjacent the opening 7, and the keeper assembly 12 which is mounted on the outer edge of the door 2. As illustrated, the wall board or other surfacing material 5 of the wall has been continued around the corner or edge of the jambs to cover the side surfaces of the jambs of the through opening 7. In new construction, the recess 9 may be conveniently provided by notching the ja-mb stud 11} prior to applying the wallboard or finishing material 5 as illustrated in the drawings. However, if so desired, or in the instance of application of the door to an existing opening, the finished wall may be cut out or mortised to provide the mounting recess.

The latch mechanism 8 has a unitary housing provided by the substantially L-shaped mounting plate 14 which covers the recess 9 and extends about the corner of the door opening 7 as shown in FIG. 1, and a frame 16, which is joined to the inner surface of the front face 17. The side face 18 not only extends about the corner of the jamb to completely conceal the recess 9 but also serves to position the latch in a vertical position.

As best shown by FIG. 4, in the central portion of the front face 17 are a lateral depression or pocket 19 and a vertical slot 20 which extends across the depression 19. Below the pocket 19 and offset to the side of the slot 20 is a transverse slot 22 to accommodate a locking mechanism described hereinafter. Bumpers 23 of rubber or other resilient material are also provided.

The latch bolt 24 is pivotally supported within the operating frame 16 by the pivot pin 26 which is offset from the center of the bolt. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bolt 22 is substantially C-shaped and has a latching finger 28, which extends outwardly of the vertical slot 20, and a camming finger 30 which projects outwardly of the slot when the latch is in unlatched position and having a depending projection 32, for a purpose to be described later. The bolt 24 has a boss 34 on each side thereof forming a hub through which the pivot pin 26 passes, and the shoulders of the bosses 34 in cooperation with the ears 36 of the operating frame 16 limit the pivotal movement of the bolt in the closing direction, and in combination with the flange portions 38 limit the pivotal movement in the opening direction.

A spring guide formed of a pair of plate-like arms 42 disposed on opposite sides of the bolt 24 is pivotally mounted thereto by the pivot pin 44, at a point spaced upwardly from the pivot 26 and substantially centrally of the bolt 24. The other ends of the arms 42 are slidably mounted in aperture 46 of the operating frame 16, and a compression spring 48 is compressively retained between the operating frame 16 and the shoulders 50, so that a downwardly biasing pressure is constantly applied to the bolt 24. This arrangement provides an overcenter toggle action which will ensure both closing pressure and hold-open pressure which must be overcome to engage or release the bolt 24-.

The bolt 24 may be locked in its latched position, shown in FIG. 2, by the lock 52 comprising a flat plate which is movable into the pivotal orbit of the camming finger 30 by means of the thumb piece 54 having a shank 56 connected to the lock 52 and slidably mounted in the slot 22, of the mounting plate. However, inadvertent locking of the latch in unlatched position is prevented by the projection 32 of the bolt 24 which is disposed in the path of movement of the lock member 52 into locking position while the latch bolt is open, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Should the latch be locked, as for example by a child, and entrance is desired, a nail or other article of small cross section can be inserted through the aperture 51 in the side face plate 18 of the mounting plate 14 and in the Wallboard 5 to slide the lock member 52 into its open position.

Referring in detail to the keeper mechanism 12, best illustrated by FIG. 5, a bracket 58 with an arm 60- projecting outwardly toward the jamb It is mounted on the edge of the door 2 by means of an overlying plate 64 and the screws -66 seated therein which pass through en larged apertures 68 in the bracket, thus enabling considerable adjustment. The cooperating faces of the bracket 58 and plate 64 are serrated to prevent relative movement of the bracket and plate after adjustment. Mounted on the arm 60 is the horizontal pin or shaft 62 which extends parallel to the plane of the door and rotatably carries the keeper roller 70. A decorative and protective cover 72, which is open at the side facing the wall is secured to the door edge by screws 73 to complete the keeper assembly.

The keeper assembly is positioned on the door so that the roller 70 is located slightly below the edge of the latching finger 28 of the bolt in its open position.

As will be readily apparent from the attached drawings, when the door is swung into a closed position, the roller 70' of the keeper strikes the camming finger 30 of the bolt and forces it inwardly against the biasing pressure of the spring and initiates pivotal movement of the bolt. As the spring guide passes alignment with the pivot 26, the force of the spring then produces the further pivotal movement of the bolt into the latched position, and supplies the pressure to draw in the door and retain the door in the closed position.

Upon opening of the door, the reverse operation occurs. The engagement of the roller 70 with the bolt 24 is below the pivot 26 and thus the opening force on the door will be translated into pivotal movement of the bolt as the roller passes outwardly against the inner surface of the latching finger portion 28, until the spring guide or toggle mechanism passes through center, at which time the biasing pressure of the spring will pivot the bolt into its open position to release the roller, and thereafter maintain the latch in the open position. No actuating handle for the latch is required, but if desired, a stationary handle (not shown) may be fixed tothe door to facilitate opening and closing of the door.

An additional feature is provided by the configuration of the outer edge 30' of the finger portion in that should the bolt be in latched position when the door is being closed, the roller by engagement with the inclined edge 30 will cam the finger portion of the bolt upwardly toward open position sufiiciently to permit the roller to enter between the fingers of the bolt for latching engagement thereby.

The latch assembly of the present invention has been illustrated as used in combination with a door hingedly mounted at its right end edge. It will be apparent, however, that the assembly is reversible and that the latch mechanism and keeper assembly may be inverted for attachment to the opposite edge of the door and the Wall surface adjacent the opposite jamb.

From the foregoing description and drawings, it will be seen that the latch assembly of the present invention is particularly advantageous for use with doors mounted on the surface of the wall surrounding the door opening in that it is economical to fabricate and inst-all, is attractive in appearance, and provides a desirable mode of operation. Variations and modifications within the skill of the art are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A latch assembly for use in combination with a wall having a through opening forming a doorway and a door of larger dimensions than the wall opening and hingedly mounted at one edge on the surface of the wall adjacent the doorway for extension across the doorway, said latch assembly comprising a latch adapted to be disposed in a recess of a Wall adjacent the corner of a doorway therein, said latch comprising a frame, a c-shaped bolt pivotally mounted on the frame and a spring biased toggle connection to the bolt urging the bolt into latched and into anlatched position, an L-shaped mounting plate for the frame comprising a generally flat face plate for extension across a recess in which the latch is disposed having an opening to accommodate the outer ends of the bolt and having a side plate for extension about the corner of a doorway for engagement with the jamb of the doorway, said side plate having an access opening therein, locking means for retaining the bolt in latched position having an actuator extending through the face plate, said locking means being releasable by an implement inserted through the access opening of the side plate, and a keeper assembly having a side wall adapted to be mounted on the edge of a door and having a roller extending in a direction normal to said side wall and disposed for engagement by the bolt when the door is in closed position.

2. In combination with a wall having a through opening forming a doorway and a door of larger dimensions than the wall opening and hingedly mounted at one edge on the surface of the wall adjacent the doorway for extension across the doorway, said door in closed position being disposed parallel to the wall with the inside face of the door exterior to the door opening, a keeper assembly mounted on the free edge of the door and having a keeper extending parallel to the door, a latch for cooperation with the keeper comprising a frame disposed in a recess of the wall adjacent the doorway, an L-shaped mounting plate secured to the frame having a substantially fiat face plate covering the recess and a side plate engaging the jamb of the doorway, said face plate having a vertical slot therein, a C-shaped bolt extending outwardly of the slot and pivotally mounted on the frame for movement between open and closed position to engage and release the keeper, toggle means biasing the bolt into open and closed position, a locking slide mounted on the interior of the face plate for movement into looking position preventing pivoting of the bolt from closed to open position, and an aperture in said side plate for insertion of means to move the slide out of locking position, said side plate and aperture being exposed within the doorway when the door is in closed position whereby the latch may be unlocked from inside the doorway when the door is closed.

3. In combination with a wall having a through opening and a door hingedly mounted on the surface of the wall for extension across the opening parallel to the wall with the inside face of the door exterior to the door opening when the door is in closed position, a protective housing on the edge of the door having an open end facing the wall when the door is in closed position, a bracket having a keeper roller therein, means adjustably mounting the bracket in fixed position on the outer edge of the door with the keeper roller parallel to the door y adjacent the open end of the housing, a latch disposed in a recess in the wall adjacent the through opening in registry with the keeper when the door is in closed position, said latch comprising an L-shaped mounting plate having a substantially flat face plate covering the recess and a side plate engaging the edge of the opening, said side plate being visible in the door opening when the door is closed and having an access opening therein, said face plate having a vertical slot therein, a frame attached to the inside of the face plate, a C-shaped bolt pivotally mounted on the frame and extending through the slot for engaging and releasing the keeper, toggle means biasing the bolt into open and closed position, and locking means for retaining the bolt in closed position having an actuator extending through the face plate, said locking means being releasable by an implement inserted through the access opening of the side plate.

4. A latch for a door mounted on the surface of a wall and extending across a through opening therein, said latch comprising an L-shaped mounting plate including a substantially flat face plate adapted to close a mounting recess in the wall adjacent the through opening and a side plate adapted to extend around the corner of the door opening in engagement with the jamb, said face plate having an elongated slot therein spaced from the top and bottom edges of the face plate, a frame mounted on the rear surface of the face plate and supported thereby, said frame being spaced from the side plate, a substantially C-shaped bolt member having a portion projecting outwardly through the elongated slot and extending substantially beyond the front surface of the face plate, pivot means pivotally mounting said bolt member on said frame for movement between open and closed positions to engage and release an associated keeper on the door, and toggle means biasing said bolt member into open and closed positions, said bolt having an elongated notch therein for receiving a keeper and providing opposed inclined camming surfaces offset from the pivot means and engageable by a keeper to initiate opening and closing movement of the latch responsive to movement of a keeper away from and toward the latch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 853,272 Stodden May 14, 1907 1,275,954 McGowan Aug. 13, 1918 2,016,519 Schmidt Oct. 8, 1935 2,129,926 Geske et a1 Sept. 13, 1938 2,833,578 Burke May 6, 1958 2,901,277 Anderson Aug. 25, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 139,138 Switzerland Apr. 15, 1930 

